There is not any such thing to be over protective with regards to your home and your finances. There are plenty of roofing contractors out there which are willing to bend the guidelines to simplify things for themselves, leading to problems for you and your roof. Even honest contractors make mistakes every occasionally. That’s why it is critical to know these 4 simple ways to protect yourself whenever choosing a roofing contractor.

Workers Compensation
Problem: You hire a roofing contractor to fix a leak on your roof. One of their workers decides not to use proper safety procedures and falls, breaking his leg. The employee holds you responsible to pay his medical expenses, because he was hurt on your property.

Solution: Roofers Compensation is really a kind of insurance covering roofing injuries. In case a roofing contractor has workers compensation, any injured employees have entitlement to recover expenses for hospital bills and being out of work. Make sure that your roofing contractor has workers compensation in order that you are saved the trouble and expenses of paying those bills yourself.

Liability Insurance
Problem: Your roofing contractor leaves your roof uncovered after removing your shingles. That night there is an unexpected storm. Water seeps into your home and damages your sheet rock, carpet plus some nice furniture. Your roofing contractor has liability insurance, but there are exclusions preventing coverage of the interior of your building. You end up paying to repair the damages yourself.

Solution: If damage occurs to your house or building that is the fault of a roofing contractor, you want to be sure they will have good liability insurance. This will cover anything from broken windows to damaged interiors as stated in the situation above. Some contractors have liability insurance, but their insurance company offers so many exclusions that it is almost like there is no coverage at all. Search for coverage that doesn’t exclude water damage resulting from leaving a roof open.

Business License
Problem: You hire a new roofing company to work on your roof. A few months later you see a leak. You try to contact the company, but can’t find their information. You try to look them up by their business license and you also find that there was never a business license issued for that company. warranty details forced to cover the repairs yourself.

Solution: Check ahead of time that your roofing contractor includes a business license. If they don’t possess a license, it may be a sign that they don’t know what they are doing. The business could easily disappear or walk out business.

In the state of Utah, your roofing company should have a shingle license and a general roofing license to set up a pitched roof. A flat roof installation only requires a general roofing license.

A general contractor is legally able to install a roof with out a roofing license if they have an over-all contractor license. However, there have been a lot of cases of contractors branching out and installing roofs themselves if they lack the proper training. This causes problems for building owners together with home owners. It is ideal for a general contractor to possess a roofing license as well as their general contractors license.

In Utah, the number for a general roofing licence is S280. The overall contractors license is B100.

If your roofing contractor is in the middle of working on your roof and you also find that they have given fraudulent business license information, (in Utah) you have the option to terminate their service immediately. You are not required to pay anything to the contractor since they were operating illegally. You can then find a qualified contractor to fix your roof and finish the job.

Lien Waiver
Problem: Your roof has been completed and you also pay the contractor. However, a couple weeks later, the contractor’s supplier contacts you requesting a fee for the materials installed on your roof. You discover your contractor did not pay his supplier and that you are now responsible for that payment. It has happened and can eventually you.

Solution: Be sure you request a lien waiver when the job is completed and before you pay. A lien waiver simply states that when the contractor does not make his payments to a supplier or employees, you aren’t responsible to cover them. It really is ultimately in place to protect the home or building owner from paying twice. If you receive the lien waiver before you pay, it really is conditional upon your payment. However, once your payment has cleared, the lien waver becomes unconditional without any additional paperwork.